Method of producing hydrogen from water-gas.



was

Waugh PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLPI-l'. FRANK, 0F CHARLOTTENBURG, GERMANY.

METHOD OF PRODUCING HYDROGEN FROM WATER-GAS.

Patented July 12, 1910.

No Drawing. Original application filed November 15, 1906, Serial No.343,522. Divided and this applica- Serial No. 372,236.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADoLrrr FRANK, a subject of the King of Prussia,residing at 26 Berlinerstrasse, Charlottenburg, Germany, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Producing Hydrogenfrom Water-Gas; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention.

The present invention has for its object a method of producingpractically pure hy drogen from water-gas.

The production of practically pure hydrogen from water-gas or similarmixtures of hydrogen, nitrogen, carbonic acid, carbon monoxid, etc., wasnot possible hitherto to an extensive extent.

Water-gas obtained on a large scale represents a quantity of hydrogenand carbon monoxid, besides some carbonic acid and nitrogen, and smallquantities of hydrocarbons, for example methane CH, and to obtainpractically pure hydrogen from this mixture was connected with suchgreat difficulties that it could not be generally introduced in thetechnics.

Now an important object of the present invention is to absorb thecompounds which in addition to hydrogen are in water-gas in oneoperation or in two operations following one after another, with theresult that almost chemically pure hydrogen is obtained as the finalproduct. For this purpose water-gas which is previously dried as much aspossible is conducted over carbid,

will? a temperatur'Ti'dm up to*-the melting point of the e. 9. 300carbid. The calcium carbid may be pure or be mixed with other carbids,or with other inert materials which promote the absorption, or with suchas reduce the temperature of absorption. Such absorption is not of amechanical or physical nature but is a chemical one, as hereinafter morefully explained. When water-gas is conducted over carbid thus heated, anabsorption of all the intermixtures with the hydrogen takes place.Carbon monoxid or carbonic acid forms with the carbid, lime or carbonateof lime and carbon. The nitrogen is likewise absorbed. The hydro-carbonsare decomposed when passing over the heated lime-carbon material withthe separation of carbon. The action of the carbid on the various gasesmentioned is indicated in the followlng reactions.

previously entirely or parti ill y r emoved from the water-gas bymeghanical segg;

ration of the constituent gases as hereinafter more fully explained inorder to relieve the carbid from the duty of separating the major partof the gases and in this manner a mixture which is rich in hydrogen isin the first place produced which, as stated above, is submitted to theaction of carbid. The said previous purification of the Watergas may becarried out in various ways. If the water-gas is produced at a highfurnace-temperature, so that the same contains in addition towater-gas'almost exclusively carbon monoxid and only little carbonicacid, the mechanical separation is preferably efiected by conducting thewater-gas, which has been suitably cooled, into a Lindes airliquefactionmachine or other similarly constructed apparatus. In this manner amechanical separation takes place, the carbon monoxid being liquefied,the carbonic acid Ws'fifill quaiiti'tieyo'f silicon-hydrogen etc., beingobtained solid, whereas the hydrogen remains gaseous and can beseparated and conducted away. The previous mechanical separation ma alsobecarried out so that the hydrogen is completely liquefied, thehydrogenbeing obtained by fractional distillation froin--the liquidwhich is thus obtained. If the water-gas is produced at a lowtemperature, and\.if little carbon monoxid and principally carbonic acidare obtained in addition to hydrogen, the previous mechanical separationmay also be preferably eflected by the water-gas being cooled down to atemperature below that of the congealing or liquefying point of thesecondary constituents of the water-gas (carbonic acid, carbon monoxid,etc), these secondary constituents being separated in this manner in asolid or liquid form from the hydrogen which is obtained. After theprevious mechanical separation of the secondary gases, as abovedescribed the hydrogen which contains some remnant of other gases as C0,C0 SiH H S, PH N, 03,, and hydrocarbons, is then subjected to a finalpurification by conducting it the manner above described;-

I claim:

1. A method of producing practically pure hydrogen, Which consists inmechanically separating carbon dioXid, carbon monoxid and othersecondary gases from the Water gas and then passing the residual gasmixture containing some of said secondary gases over heated carbid.

2. The method of producing pure hydrogen, which comprises firstmechanically and incompletely separating carbon di-oxid and othersecondary gases from water gas and then passing the residual gasmixture, from which the secondary gases have not been completelyremoved, over carbid heated to a temperature suflicient to react withthe secondary gases remaining in said mixture, thereby obtaining purehydrogen.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ADOLPH FRANK.

\Vitnesses HENRY I-IAsrER, \VOLDEMAR HAUPT.

